Arrangement for air conditioning equipment containing a number of conditioning units

ABSTRACT

Air conditioning equipment containing several conditioning units comprising a bottom and a top, two opposing sides and two ends having an inlet and an outlet for the air to be conditioned, the bottom consisting of a bottom foundation resistant to torsional and bending forces, made up of two beams extending over the entire length of the equipment and two spacing elements resistant to torsional forces, adjoining each end, the top consisting of a corresponding element, the beams having a web arranged somewhat rearward in relation to the sides of the equipment and one flange extending to said sides, the plates forming the bottom and top of the equipment being fully bent back round the said protecting flange, the top and the bottom being interconnected by cornerposts, secured to the bottom and the top.

[451 May 1, 1973 United States Patent [191 Astrom 464 78 W. a 526 m 04 n333 P 1 ARRANGEMENT FOR AIR CONDITIONING EQUIPMENT CONTAINING A NUMBEROF CONDITIONING UNITS [75] Inventor:

Lennart Astrom, Saltsjobadsvagen Attorney gowson and Howson SwedenAssignee: Aktiebolaget Svenska Flaktfabrike ABSTRACT Nacka Sweden Airconditioning equipment containing several conditioning units comprisinga bottom and a to p, two op- 22 Filed: May24,1971

211 Appl.No.: 146,200

posing sides and two ends having an inlet and an outlet for the air tobe conditioned, the bottom consisting of a bottom foundation resistantto torsional and bending forces, made up of two beams extendin g overForeign Application Priority Data May 29,1970Sweden........1.,..........i....

the entire length of the equipment and two spacing h dee Cm nh e o mm gamm .memam -m t r om mrm Ji d w S a mw s wm fim eSO D. CCS mnd m foeet.l h aw a n fU mM moa s p am n da ofi fl IS xma O I. et n h OnI tC n sVOI mP h n rt nm m w do nmwa e le m7 d n mnmn eet.lfi 12 1 nfl U32 w leM6 m 6 Q 1 2 9 6 S m Q n 6"" mmh ."c u.-l "3 e s Lu m l d sum UIF 1]] 28 555 [[.1

bottom and top of the equipment being fully bent g flange, the top andthe References Cited back round the said protectin UNITED STATES PATENTSbottom being interconnected by cornerposts, secured S e r U .m F g n i wm 2,l30,327 9/1938 2,513,517 7/1950 Reilly....1...... 2,926,506 3/1960Skaeredofi..................

Patented May 1, 1973 i 3,729,950.

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN /ENTORQ V lqwunnr Asrk'u ARRANGEMENT FOR AIRCONDITIONING EQUIPMENT CONTAINING A NUMBER OF CONDITIONING UNITS Thisinvention relates to an arrangement for air conditioning equipmentcontaining a number of conditioning units and with high requirements onmechanical stability and airtightness and comprising a casing consistingof bottom and top, two opposing sides, and two ends having respectivelyan inlet and an outlet for the air which is to be conditioned and whichis to be supplied from the equipment to a system of ducts or direct to aroom.

Increasingly high requirements are now placed on airtightness in airconditioning equipment. Standards for permissible air leakage alreadyexist. It has proved difficult to comply with these standards with thenormal types of equipment existing hitherto, especially equipments whichare assembled out of a number of sections on site. Leakage may thenarise at every joint, especially as the equipments are often placed sothat, depending on their size, and owing to the fact that they are oftenplaced in inaccessible spaces or in spaces of irregular shape,difficulties arise in applying the necessary screw-joints on all sides.Great care must also be devoted to the design of inspection doors inorder that the leakage may be kept within permissible limits.

An earlier common method of construction was that the equipment was madeup of a framework in which doors were placed as described in the Swedishpatent 128,409. This construction may be regarded as normative for thedesign of such equipments at a time when the air quantities to beconditioned, and consequently the size of the equipments were usuallyvery much less than the requirements today. long length of edge wasobtained in which leakage could occur. Thus for each frame a doublelength of edge was obtained.

Increasing importance is also placed nowadays on accessibility in orderto reduce servicing costs. It is desired that preferably one side shallbe fully accessible for inspection and removal of components. Thisapplies especially to the air filters and similar expendable units inthe equipments. This imposes special requirements on the design offramework and doors in order to preserve airtightness and strength. Forcombination of sections into a complete equipment a separate frame isusually required. If a frame is not used, each section of a heavyequipment must be suspended independently, which is usually complicated.A difficulty in installation is often that certain components are ofgreater width or height than the remainder of the equipment, whichrequires more complicated and expensive foundations. In theair-conditioning equipment room there is normally a sloping floor to adrain, which means that chocks must be placed under the equipment tobring it into horizontal position, which is necessary having regard tothe water level in some of the basins for the conditioning units.

Transport up to the site ofinstallation has also been a severe problemearlier, as heavy components must be moved over uneven and not fullycompleted flooring. For the assembly of equipment delivered in the formof sections, furthermore, there has been found to be a risk of wrongsequence of assembly. Apart from the increased leakage through twoboundary-lines at every In these cases, however, a

joint, the use of internal framework and external doors has alsoinvolved an increased risk of damage to doors both when setting up theequipment on a floor and during its handling up to the site ofinstallation.

In view of the disadvantages and disamenities attaching to earlierprinciples of construction of air-conditioning equipments of theaforesaid kind, the object of the invention is a new and improved designof such equipments, which are characterized in that the bottom of thecasing consists of an element resistant to torsional and bending forcesand formed as a bottom foundation, made up of two beams extending alongthe entire length of the equipment and two spacing elements, resistantto torsional forces adjoining each end, and in that the top of thecasing consists of a corresponding element, the beams having a webarranged somewhat rearward in relation to the sides of the equipment andat least one flange extending to the sides of the equipment, ad that theplates forming the bottom and top of the equipment are fully bent backround the said projecting flange and are thereafter directed inwardstowards the web of the respective beam, and in that the top of thecasing is connected to the bottom of the casing by means of comerposts,attached to the bottom and top, the end-pieces being connected to thecornerposts, for example, by means of clamping sections.

The flanges for the beams in the bottom foundation should preferentiallybe designed as attachments for screens or partition walls between theconditioning units of the equipment and basins, which may be requiredfor them. Another embodiment of the equipment is characterized in thatthe beams in the bottom foundation have webs arranged somewhat rearwardin relation to the center of the equipment so that locking devices andconnecting-pieces for conditioning units in the equipment can beaccommodated within the width dimensions of the equipment. In the sameway, according to an advantageous embodiment, the beams in the bottomfoundation can be made with a web of such height that a basin forcollection of condensation water in cooling batteries, as also water forair humidifiers in the equipment, and water seals, as also pumps andvalves for the water and the necessary controls, can be placed betweenthe bottom beams and within their height dimensions. The spacer elementsresistant to torsional forces situated close to each end between thebeams in the bottom foundation, must, according to a preferredembodiment, consist of transverse tubular stays attached to the beams.These stays may suitably be secured by the beams in the bottomfoundation by means of rectangular tubes arranged to carry elementsdesigned for transport or support or suspension of the equipment or inthe case of a sloping floor in the room for setting up of the equipmentfor any adjustment means that may be required. ln order that, fortransport etc. of the equipment, the elements carried in the rectangulartubes shall not exceed the width of the equipment, according to anotheradvantageous embodiment of the invention the rectangular tubes attachedto the beams in the bottom foundation must be fitted to the inside ofthe webs of the beams where they can be attached by welding or bythrough-bolts. The earlier mentioned principle for construction of theairconditioning equipment according to the invention permits theconditioning units of the equipment to be withdrawn both through theback and the front. In most cases of installation it is preferable, inaccordance with another suitable embodiment, that one side wall of theequipment is sealed by meansof a number of protecting doors orinspection doors corresponding to the number of conditioning units ofthe equipment, the doors having inwards-bent stiffening edges and, inthe corners, cut-outs for the outward-bent flanges of the bottomfoundation and top beams. A further development of this embodiment ischaracterized in that at least one side of the equipment has wallsconsisting of U- or L-shaped sections on each side of the inspectiondoors fastened in the outward-bent flanges of the beams of the bottomfoundation and arranged to accomodate the locking devices of theinspection doors and the connecting-pieces of the conditioning units, sothat these do not exceed the width of the equipment.

The invention will now be described with reference to the attacheddrawings, which show an exemplifying embodiment of an air conditioningequipment according to the invention, which contains a number ofconditioning elements, where FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective viewof the air conditioning equipment and its conditioning units, and

FIG. 2 shows the air conditioning equipment with a number of doorsremoved for exposure of some of the conditioning units.

In the drawings the casing is denoted by 1. This consists of a bottom 2and a top 3, two opposing sides, of which the rear side is denoted 4aand the front side 4b is entirely exposed in FIG. 1. The casing has twoends 5a, 5b with an inlet 6 and an outlet 7 for the air to beconditioned and to be supplied from the air conditioning equipment to asystem of ducts or directly to a room not shown in the drawing. Inenlarged scale FIG. 1 shows that according to the invention the bottom 2of the casing 1 shall consist of an element resistant to torsional andbending forces formed as a bottom foundation. The element is made up oftwo beams 9 extending along the entire length of the air conditioningequipment (indicated by arrows in the perspective view) and rigidlyconnected to two spacing elements 10, resistant to torsional forces,situated close to each end 511, 5b. The top of the casing consists of acorresponding element in which the beams are denoted 8. The beams 8 and9 as is clearly shown in the enlargement have a web 9a arranged somewhatrearward in relation to the sides of the equipment. In the present casethe beam is of Z-type. One flange 9b extends to the sides of the airconditioning equipment and is on the same plane as the sides 4a, 4b.Both in the bottom foundation and in the top element the plate 11 isentirely bent back around this projecting flange and is thereafterinward directed towards web 9a of the beam 9 or 8. The drawing shows theconstruction of the bottom foundation only in certain details. The beamsof the top elements, however, can on grounds of strength, be somewhatmore slender than those ofthe bottom foundation. The top 3 of the casingis connected to the bottom 2 of the casing by means of the end-pieces5a, 51), attached to the bottom and top, for example, by means ofclamping sections.

The invention is thus based on the use of a bottom,

resistant to torsional and bending forces, with essentially plane upperside. If the bottom is formed as a plate which is folded back round theupper flanges of underlying beams, any possibility of leakage betweenbottom plate and foundation beams is entirely eliminated. If the top isformed analogously to the bottom and is turned with the plane platedownwards, the corresponding advantages are obtained from the sealingaspect. The essentially plane plates allow free withdrawal ofconditioning units 12-17 mounted between them. The edges formed by theplates bent back around the flanges provide a good seal with connectingdoors 22, 23 or wall sections. The rigid external frame allowsattachment of means both for horizontal and vertical transport, settingup and suspension. Top and bottom beams are preferentially formed sothat one equipment can be placed on another one. The robust bottom beamseliminate the risk of damage to the casing during movement over unevenfloors.

According to a suitable embodiment of the invention the beams 9 in thebottom foundation have a web 9a of such a height, denoted h in FIG. 2,that a basin (see reference notation 18) for collection of condensationwater in cooling batteries, as also water for air humidifiers in theequipment, and water seals, as also pumps and valves for the water andthe necessary controls, can be placed between the bottom beams 9. 10denotes spacer elements resistant to torsional forces, which may consistof tubular stays. These can be attached to the beam 9 in the bottomfoundation by means of rectangular tubes 21 shown in FIG. 2 and inenlargement in FIG. 1. This is an attractive solution, as it allows bysimple means the insertion and rigid at tachment in these rectangulartubes, at the ends of the robust bottom foundation, of elements designedfor the transport or support or suspension of the air conditioningequipment. In the case of sloping of the floor of the room where the airconditioning equipment is to be set up, the necessary adjusting meanscan be inserted in said rectangular tubes. 24 denotes walls consistingof U- or L-shaped sections on each side of the inspection door 23. Thesesections, as indicated, are attached to the outward bent flanges 9a. Thesections 24 are arranged to accommodate locking devices 25 for theinspection doors 23, the which devices may consist of locking levers ofeccentric type described in the applicants patent (patent application l4520/69).

What is claimed is:

I. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment containing a number ofconditioning units and with high requirements on mechanical stabilityand airtightness, and comprising a casing consisting of a closed bottom,a closed top, two opposing sides adapted to be closed, and two endshaving respectively an inlet and an outlet for the air which is to beconditioned and which is to be supplied from the equipment to a systemof ducts or direct to a room, characterized in that the bottom of thecasing consists of a structure resistant to torsional and bending forcesand formed as a bottom foundation, made up ofa plate and two beamsextending along the entire length of the equipment and two spacingelements, resistant to torsional forces, between said beams andadjoining each end, and in that the top of the casing consists of acorresponding structure, at least one of the beams in each structurehaving an upstanding web arranged inward in relation to the adjacentside of the equipment and at least one flange projecting outwardly tothe adjacent side of the equipment, and that the plates forming thebottom and top of the equipment are fully bent back round the saidoutwardly projecting flange and are thereafter directed inwards towardsthe upstanding web of the respective beam, and in that the top of thecasing is connected to the bottom of the casing by means of comerpostsattached to the bottom and top, the two ends being connected to thecornerposts.

2. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment according to claim 1,characterized in that locking devices and connecting-pieces forconditioning units in the equipment are accommodated within the widthdimension of the equipment by spanning between the flanges of the upperand lower structures.

3. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment according to claim 1,characterized in that the beams in the bottom foundation have a web of agiven height, and that the bottom plate is constructed to provide abasin for water and the necessary controls between the bottom beams andwithin said given height dimension.

4. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment according to claim 1,characterized in that said Spacing elements consist of transversetubular stays attached to the beams.

5. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment according to claim 4,characterized in that said tubular stays are secured to the beams in thebottom foundation by means of rectangular tubes extending along thelength of said beams against the interior surface of its web.

6. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment according to claim 1,characterized in that one side wall of the equipment is sealed by meansof a number of doors having inward-bent stiffening edges and, in thecorners, cut-outs for the outward-bent flanges of the bottom and topstructures, said stiffening edges adapted to engage over the top flangeand under the bottom flange.

7. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment according to claim 6,characterized in that said one side of the equipment has lockingsections on each side of the inspection doors, said locking sectionsbeing fastened between the outward-projecting flanges of the beams ofthe bottom and top structures, and locking devices for the doors of theconditioning units mounted on said sections so that these do not projectbeyond the width of the equipment.

8. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein each of said beams has anupstanding web and outwardly projecting flange, said casing includingsides adapted to sealingly engage said plates where they are bent backaround said outwardly projecting flanges.

1. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment containing a number ofconditioning units and with high requirements on mechanical stabilityand airtightness, and comprising a casing consisting of a closed bottom,a closed top, two opposing sides adapted to be closed, and two endshaving respectively an inlet and an outlet for the air which is to beconditioned and which is to be supplied from the equipment to a systemof ducts or direct to a room, characterized in that the bottom of thecasing consists of a structure resistant to torsional and bending forcesand formed as a bottom foundation, made up of a plate and two beamsextending along the entire length of the equipment and two spacingelements, resistant to torsional forces, between said beams andadjoining each end, and in that the top of the casing consists of acorresponding structure, at least one of the beams in each structurehaving an upstanding web arranged inward in relation to the adjacentside of the equipment and at least one flange projecting outwardly tothe adjacent side of the equipment, and that the plates forming thebottom and top of the equipment are fully bent back round the saidoutwardly projecting flange and are thereafter directed inwards towardsthe upstanding web of the respective beam, and in that the top of thecasing is connected to the bottom of the casing by means of cornerpostsattached to the bottom and top, the two ends being connected to thecornerposts.
 2. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment accordingto claim 1, characterized in that locking devices and connecting-piecesfor conditioning units in the equipment are accommodated within thewidth dimension of the equipment by spanning between the flanges of theupper and lower structures.
 3. An arrangement for air conditioningequipment according to claim 1, characterized in that the beams in thebottom foundation have a web of a given heighT, and that the bottomplate is constructed to provide a basin for water and the necessarycontrols between the bottom beams and within said given heightdimension.
 4. An arrangement for air conditioning equipment according toclaim 1, characterized in that said spacing elements consist oftransverse tubular stays attached to the beams.
 5. An arrangement forair conditioning equipment according to claim 4, characterized in thatsaid tubular stays are secured to the beams in the bottom foundation bymeans of rectangular tubes extending along the length of said beamsagainst the interior surface of its web.
 6. An arrangement for airconditioning equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that oneside wall of the equipment is sealed by means of a number of doorshaving inward-bent stiffening edges and, in the corners, cut-outs forthe outward-bent flanges of the bottom and top structures, saidstiffening edges adapted to engage over the top flange and under thebottom flange.
 7. An arrangement for air conditioning equipmentaccording to claim 6, characterized in that said one side of theequipment has locking sections on each side of the inspection doors,said locking sections being fastened between the outward-projectingflanges of the beams of the bottom and top structures, and lockingdevices for the doors of the conditioning units mounted on said sectionsso that these do not project beyond the width of the equipment.
 8. Anarrangement according to claim 1 wherein each of said beams has anupstanding web and outwardly projecting flange, said casing includingsides adapted to sealingly engage said plates where they are bent backaround said outwardly projecting flanges.